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Moussa Sissoko

intentionally deflected it off the defenders knee, watch the replay, he even points to the space Dele had to run into
 
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Huge show of trust from Pochettino to leave him on the pitch on a yellow for the deep midfield role. Perhaps not much of a choice as he's performed so much better than Wanyama and Dier, but that is a very difficult job. And he played it very well, disciplined, spot on.

I think it was a case of him being the best option out of what was available than any particular "trust".

Sissokos pace and engine meant he could chase anything coming out of their half - nothign we had as an option from anyone else out there.
 
Agree that he was excellent last night, as he has been all season. Our player of the year in my view.

HOWEVER, I can't work out whether your second para above was sarcastic or not?!? It was just a punt forward - calling it a skillful, floated pass is a gross exageration! Had the right effect though!

There's no exaggeration at all.

The ball was played back to him in our half and he was facing upfield as he received it. He had time and space to assess options and could have swung it wide, hit it deeper, run with the ball or made a pass on the deck. He chose to hit a well-weighted high ball that landed exactly where Llorente needed it.

With his back to goal, the height and weight gave Llorente time to work out where the runners around him were moving to and to make the right call on playing the ball. Sure, it was all done in The Spur of the Moment™ but the players know what they're doing out there.

This type of play was something Spurs surely worked on in training, knowing there would be no Kane and there might come a time when Llorente was going to become a factor in the game. The sort of lofted ball Sissoko struck played to Llorente's strength and he used his strength and length to direct the ball to Dele. The hang time of Sissoko's pass also gave the other Spurs attackers time to gauge what Llorente was positioned like and to be prepared for the quick pass-run-shoot sequence that won the game.

Sissoko's pass would have impressed Werner von Braun.
 
Bucketing Wanyama with Sissoko is a trash way of making an awful point. Sissoko was very good. Wanyama was trash. And Eriksen only looked good in midfield as he was complimented by the power and energy of Sissoko.
Sissoko was playing right back at that point. Eriksen was running midfield by himself
 
Sissoko was playing right back at that point. Eriksen was running midfield by himself

...thaaaat's why nothing was coming down the right second-half, and it was all coming down the left and centre...thanks for clearing that up.

I'd suggest you let it go, but in some perverse universe, your myopia regarding Sissoko is possibly proving talismanic. Thus, carry on!!!!!:D
 
That Sissoko stat (like all figures) needs to be viewing with the full contextual evidence - watching the game.
That reminds me of one of the most useless statistics I can think of - aerials won. When Llorente won 12 aerials or whatever against Bournemouth, I could've sworn that only 1 or 2 allowed us to retain possession. What's the use of winning an aerial if you head the ball straight to an opponent or out of touch? If so, Chelsea's goalie had 3 penalty saves last night, only that one of them ended up in goal. I scratch my head Hoddle style when players opt to head the ball, even without being pressured, as heading leaves you with so few options. When Llorente finally decided that he could fight for position and take the ball down on his chest, we could begin to make use of it.
 
Absolutely hilarious that the people who have been negative on Sissoko from the very start are still looking for any angle to make their case, even now in this thread. It’s like a political party that has lost the election but the ideology hasn’t died, just been beaten back.

Come on guys. Just call it like it is. He’s been an absolutely critical and crucial part of our run to the morherfudging Champions League Final!!
 
There's no exaggeration at all.

The ball was played back to him in our half and he was facing upfield as he received it. He had time and space to assess options and could have swung it wide, hit it deeper, run with the ball or made a pass on the deck. He chose to hit a well-weighted high ball that landed exactly where Llorente needed it.

With his back to goal, the height and weight gave Llorente time to work out where the runners around him were moving to and to make the right call on playing the ball. Sure, it was all done in The Spur of the Moment™ but the players know what they're doing out there.

This type of play was something Spurs surely worked on in training, knowing there would be no Kane and there might come a time when Llorente was going to become a factor in the game. The sort of lofted ball Sissoko struck played to Llorente's strength and he used his strength and length to direct the ball to Dele. The hang time of Sissoko's pass also gave the other Spurs attackers time to gauge what Llorente was positioned like and to be prepared for the quick pass-run-shoot sequence that won the game.

Sissoko's pass would have impressed Werner von Braun.

Can you give me a summary of Dele’s first “assists” please.
 
Absolutely hilarious that the people who have been negative on Sissoko from the very start are still looking for any angle to make their case, even now in this thread. It’s like a political party that has lost the election but the ideology hasn’t died, just been beaten back.

Come on guys. Just call it like it is. He’s been an absolutely critical and crucial part of our run to the morherfudging Champions League Final!!
The following article show why being crucial to how we're currently playing and being good are not synonymous. We're playing the way we do because of Sissoko's limitations - that's not the style Poch has traditionally chosen to play and I'd be very surprised if we're playing this way out of anything other than desperation.

https://statsbomb.com/2019/04/the-champions-league-underdog-bracket-preview-spurs-v-ajax/
 
The following article show why being crucial to how we're currently playing and being good are not synonymous. We're playing the way we do because of Sissoko's limitations - that's not the style Poch has traditionally chosen to play and I'd be very surprised if we're playing this way out of anything other than desperation.

https://statsbomb.com/2019/04/the-champions-league-underdog-bracket-preview-spurs-v-ajax/

Article doesn't say that at all. The tactical shift has been necessitated by injuries and the article points to the lack of other midfielders (particularity Dembele) not the inclusion of one midfielder to be the issue. There's a difference between the two points.
 
The following article show why being crucial to how we're currently playing and being good are not synonymous. We're playing the way we do because of Sissoko's limitations - that's not the style Poch has traditionally chosen to play and I'd be very surprised if we're playing this way out of anything other than desperation.

https://statsbomb.com/2019/04/the-champions-league-underdog-bracket-preview-spurs-v-ajax/

That’s a tremendously interesting article, but I’m struggling to see why it means what you think it means.

No doubt we have changed our style this season. But to say that is because of ‘Sissoko’s limitations’ is disingenuous. We have played sensational football with Sissoko on the park, and we’ve played terrible football with Sissoko off it (the West Ham loss, where we tried to play this more direct football without him and looked terrible).

I view it as a great achievement from Poch that he can have us playing a high block full court press, a mid block air raid game or a low block counter attack. It speaks well to his lack of dogmatic thinking and strength in his adaptability. The idea that we don’t always play like Spurs circa 16/17 and therefore it’s some big failing is just not true. Teams will have gotten wise to that style and we need to be able to adapt. Sissoko has been crucial in enabling that, because of his versatility and adaptability as much as his core strengths as a footballer.

It is not somehow less good or less real or less countable because we sometimes play a more direct game. I repeat, we’ve played vintage Spurs-Poch era football with him on the pitch, and we’ve played terrible direct football without him. Sissoko is more than capable of filling a role even in a team that plays the style of football you want - his job isn’t that different to what Wanyama did in 16-17.
 
I would also say one of the reasons Liverpool have been so successful this season (alongside some big signings, squad depth and a lack of injuries) is that Klopp adapted their style. They can still play a heavy metal gegenpress, but they now also sometimes drop off a little more and play a smarter, more controlled game.

Klopp and Poch are sensational managers and I’m not surprised someone like Klopp has a use for a player like Henderson in the same way we have been able to use Sissoko. Both have been excellent this season.
 
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